Boy from England went home to fight

WATERLOO REGION — You could die anywhere at any time on the Western Front in the First World War — attacking the enemy, supporting an attack, being near the front line or being far from it.

Pte. Fred Grove, 21, was in a supporting role near the front line when the Germans fired the shell that killed him in April 1917.

Grove had been in the army about 17 months. In 1907, when he was 11, his family immigrated to Canada from England. When the war erupted seven years later, he volunteered to fight for his new country and his homeland.

Grove served with the 4th infantry battalion after enlisting in Galt (now Cambridge) in November 1915. He was 19 when he signed up, the son of a bricklayer, among five children of Fred and Emily Grove.

Before enlisting, Grove worked as a newspaper printer and as a labourer. The family lived at 16 Cathay St. in Galt.

In April 1917, his infantry battalion fought at Vimy Ridge in northern France, helping to win a vicious battle now regarded as a nation-building victory. Over six days the Canadians advanced about four kilometres across a battle-scarred landscape, seizing 54 guns, 104 trench mortars, 124 machine guns and capturing more than 4,000 German prisoners.

The cost was terrible — 3,598 men killed, a further 7,004 wounded or captured. That's roughly one Canadian killed for every metre of ground taken from the enemy.

Grove's battalion earned a brief rest after the battle for Vimy Ridge ended April 14, 1917. The men hunkered down in miserable trenches they captured from the Germans, facing poison gas alerts and dodging enemy shells and machine guns.

Here are excerpts from the battalion's daily war diary:

April 24th:Battalion in Front Line trenches. Enemy's artillery and machine guns active. Weather cold and rainy. Gas alert on. Orders received we will be relieved tomorrow.

April 25th:Battalion in Front Line trenches. Artillery on both sides most active. Weather, cold and rainy. Gas alert on. Relief orders cancelled. Trenches very wet and muddy.

At 4:30 a.m. on April 28, Canada attacked the enemy again, this time targeting German defenders at the village of Arleux. Three infantry battalions assaulted along a front of just over two kilometres, according to Canada's official war history. One company of men, held up by machine guns and barbed wire, lost all its officers. Still, the village was taken and held against German counterattacks.

Grove's battalion was not part of this main attack. It had a supporting role, but that did not protect Grove. A German shell exploded just west of railway tracks near the village of Farbus. Shrapnel tore into his chest, badly wounding him. He was taken to a dressing station and then evacuated to a field hospital. He died of his wounds the next day, April 29, 1917.

Hours after Grove was wounded, his battalion was relieved by another unit and the men moved into safer shelters.

Grove is buried in northern France in a British cemetery with 338 other war dead.

Boy from England went home to fight

WATERLOO REGION — You could die anywhere at any time on the Western Front in the First World War — attacking the enemy, supporting an attack, being near the front line or being far from it.

Pte. Fred Grove, 21, was in a supporting role near the front line when the Germans fired the shell that killed him in April 1917.

Grove had been in the army about 17 months. In 1907, when he was 11, his family immigrated to Canada from England. When the war erupted seven years later, he volunteered to fight for his new country and his homeland.

Grove served with the 4th infantry battalion after enlisting in Galt (now Cambridge) in November 1915. He was 19 when he signed up, the son of a bricklayer, among five children of Fred and Emily Grove.

Before enlisting, Grove worked as a newspaper printer and as a labourer. The family lived at 16 Cathay St. in Galt.

In April 1917, his infantry battalion fought at Vimy Ridge in northern France, helping to win a vicious battle now regarded as a nation-building victory. Over six days the Canadians advanced about four kilometres across a battle-scarred landscape, seizing 54 guns, 104 trench mortars, 124 machine guns and capturing more than 4,000 German prisoners.

The cost was terrible — 3,598 men killed, a further 7,004 wounded or captured. That's roughly one Canadian killed for every metre of ground taken from the enemy.

Grove's battalion earned a brief rest after the battle for Vimy Ridge ended April 14, 1917. The men hunkered down in miserable trenches they captured from the Germans, facing poison gas alerts and dodging enemy shells and machine guns.

Here are excerpts from the battalion's daily war diary:

April 24th:Battalion in Front Line trenches. Enemy's artillery and machine guns active. Weather cold and rainy. Gas alert on. Orders received we will be relieved tomorrow.

April 25th:Battalion in Front Line trenches. Artillery on both sides most active. Weather, cold and rainy. Gas alert on. Relief orders cancelled. Trenches very wet and muddy.

At 4:30 a.m. on April 28, Canada attacked the enemy again, this time targeting German defenders at the village of Arleux. Three infantry battalions assaulted along a front of just over two kilometres, according to Canada's official war history. One company of men, held up by machine guns and barbed wire, lost all its officers. Still, the village was taken and held against German counterattacks.

Grove's battalion was not part of this main attack. It had a supporting role, but that did not protect Grove. A German shell exploded just west of railway tracks near the village of Farbus. Shrapnel tore into his chest, badly wounding him. He was taken to a dressing station and then evacuated to a field hospital. He died of his wounds the next day, April 29, 1917.

Hours after Grove was wounded, his battalion was relieved by another unit and the men moved into safer shelters.

Grove is buried in northern France in a British cemetery with 338 other war dead.

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Boy from England went home to fight

WATERLOO REGION — You could die anywhere at any time on the Western Front in the First World War — attacking the enemy, supporting an attack, being near the front line or being far from it.

Pte. Fred Grove, 21, was in a supporting role near the front line when the Germans fired the shell that killed him in April 1917.

Grove had been in the army about 17 months. In 1907, when he was 11, his family immigrated to Canada from England. When the war erupted seven years later, he volunteered to fight for his new country and his homeland.

Grove served with the 4th infantry battalion after enlisting in Galt (now Cambridge) in November 1915. He was 19 when he signed up, the son of a bricklayer, among five children of Fred and Emily Grove.

Before enlisting, Grove worked as a newspaper printer and as a labourer. The family lived at 16 Cathay St. in Galt.

In April 1917, his infantry battalion fought at Vimy Ridge in northern France, helping to win a vicious battle now regarded as a nation-building victory. Over six days the Canadians advanced about four kilometres across a battle-scarred landscape, seizing 54 guns, 104 trench mortars, 124 machine guns and capturing more than 4,000 German prisoners.

The cost was terrible — 3,598 men killed, a further 7,004 wounded or captured. That's roughly one Canadian killed for every metre of ground taken from the enemy.

Grove's battalion earned a brief rest after the battle for Vimy Ridge ended April 14, 1917. The men hunkered down in miserable trenches they captured from the Germans, facing poison gas alerts and dodging enemy shells and machine guns.

Here are excerpts from the battalion's daily war diary:

April 24th:Battalion in Front Line trenches. Enemy's artillery and machine guns active. Weather cold and rainy. Gas alert on. Orders received we will be relieved tomorrow.

April 25th:Battalion in Front Line trenches. Artillery on both sides most active. Weather, cold and rainy. Gas alert on. Relief orders cancelled. Trenches very wet and muddy.

At 4:30 a.m. on April 28, Canada attacked the enemy again, this time targeting German defenders at the village of Arleux. Three infantry battalions assaulted along a front of just over two kilometres, according to Canada's official war history. One company of men, held up by machine guns and barbed wire, lost all its officers. Still, the village was taken and held against German counterattacks.

Grove's battalion was not part of this main attack. It had a supporting role, but that did not protect Grove. A German shell exploded just west of railway tracks near the village of Farbus. Shrapnel tore into his chest, badly wounding him. He was taken to a dressing station and then evacuated to a field hospital. He died of his wounds the next day, April 29, 1917.

Hours after Grove was wounded, his battalion was relieved by another unit and the men moved into safer shelters.

Grove is buried in northern France in a British cemetery with 338 other war dead.